October 18th, 2010

The Week That Was 10.18.10

This week was a short one for me, what with the recovering from ACL and all. It’s quite possible that I’m not truly recovered even today. Walking, sweating, drinking and rocking for three days straight certainly takes it out of you. Then again, I guess I’m talking about a short work-week considering that Monday night I found myself up to my old tricks: sipping old fashioneds at Anvil. Just when you think the obsession with drinking all classy-like is over, you get sucked right back in.

Excellente’s
Should we consider a chain restaurant really a chain if they only have five branches and all of them are in the greater Houston area? Since we’re against all the corporate evils of the world – which is only something we tell ourselves while we don’t get paid for our expert writing and pervasive opinions – sometimes the rules must be bent just a little bit. After the first tortilla filled with delicious fajita steak, cheese, guacamole and onions, I wasn’t going to let the fact that Escalante’s is kind of a chain keep me from writing about it. There are very few things that I fiend for (other than McDonald’s and cigarettes, which is something we’ll get into later today), but now I have an incessant need for Mexican food. Thanks, Escalante’s, that’s just fantastic. I definitely needed a new reason to spend a little more money each week eating out. We don’t get paid for this, you know?!

Back When I Was Nineteen
Do you ever get disappointed when a band doesn’t play your favorite song during their set? I can never understand why the song I like isn’t the most popular song of the crowd nor the one the band is proudest of writing. The fact that the Old 97’s didn’t play “Nineteen” didn’t ruin their performance at Cactus Music and the exclusion from the set list probably saved some property damages I would have had to pay after knocking over CD racks to get closer to the band. Rhett Miller and crew didn’t have to do much to amp up the rest of the crowd. The anticipation was evident from the second that I walked into the record store. People crowded toward the small stage about a half an hour before the first chord was struck. That’s dedication. I was dedicated to holding the fort near the counter. Not to pat myself on the back, but I did a damn good job making sure people didn’t make a run for cash registers when nobody was watching. You’re welcome, Cactus.

Tag It
Friday night, after circling the 4500 block on Main Street several times to make sure I was in the right place, I finally walked into War’Hous to check out the Street Art exhibit and book release of Stay Up by David Elizondo. The graffiti, usually reserved for abandoned buildings and traffic light electrical boxes translated well to the white walls of the gallery. It felt like it belonged there all along. Work by Cutthroat, Shreddi, Eyesore, 2:12, Coolidge, Weah, ACK! and Give Up was hung up littered with price tags. An odd site for something that is usually free for the people that pay attention enough to catch their work on the street. Then again, you can’t take that stuff home with you. I ended up taking my hardback copy of Stay Up home with me. I don’t have a coffee table so I guess this is my new ottoman book for visitors to flip through. If you missed the release you can buy the book online at blurb.com. Please don’t come whining to me about the price. Elizondo is self-publishing the book. I know, it’s a mystery to me why Random House wouldn’t want to scoop this puppy up for mass production, but we must live with this life full of idiosyncrasies.

More, More, More
If you’ve met me, you know that I don’t come off as much of a “kicker”. Actually, I don’t even know if “kicker” is a derogatory term or not for our belt buckled and boot strapped friends. I’m more of a t-shirt, jeans and indie music kind of guy… not snake skin, pearl snaps and chaw. That doesn’t mean that I can’t enjoy a night full of two stepping. On Saturday night you could find me on the dance floor at Rebel’s Honky Tonk on Washington. It’s about as close as you’re going to get to having a country bar on Washington. A little bit country, a little bit rock-n-roll and a little bit 30K millionaire. In fact, I dare you to find something you hate about the place other than the location. Actually, let me beat you to the punch on that one: Every beer is $5. Even the Lone Stars don’t escape the bloated price. Rebel’s I’ll come back because someone, someday is going to want do the dosido for their birthday, but for now I’ll keep the boots in the closet and the Chuck Taylor’s on my feet if only to drink my Lone Stars at a more reasonable price.

Kemah and Coffee (Richard)
Saturday morning is usually a lazy one. Not so this weekend. Plans to embark on the journey south outside the Loop to visit the familia had been carefully carved into stone a month in advance. So when my mother asked that I bring my trainers to run the Kemah bridge a few times at 6:30 in the morning, backing out was not an option. While my feet adjusted to the initial shock of the pounding asphalt, I saw one of my very favorite things in all of Houston (Sure the lists reads sunset, but sunrise is actually more deserving) —a sunrise at the Kemah bridge. With 3 of our 6 actually managing to run personal bests in those early hours, we decided a sweet coffee reward was in the cards. Stephan had recommended Antigua Coffee in Pearland earlier that week if I was in the area and said he had heard good things. Good things we found. With 4 more of the family meeting us there, we conquered the southwest wing of the little shop all while consuming sweet pastries and even better coffee. “Thanks” are in order to Jeremy, that morning’s barista, for his patience in our slow decision making.